Apparatus and method for delivering droplets of fluid onto poultry hatchlings

ABSTRACT

A dispensing apparatus (1) for delivering droplets of fluids such as liquids having a low viscosity or being soft gels onto poultry hatchlings that are present in movably mounted hatchling trays (19) comprising at least one reservoir (18), at least one pumping unit (9), connected to at least one reservoir (18), with at least one manifold (8) connected to at least one pumping unit (9), as well as a control unit. The apparatus comprises a plurality of optionally adjustable fluid atomizers (6) being connected by flexible connecting means (7) to at least one manifold (8), whereby the fluid atomizers (6) are detachably and/or slidably connected on at least one mounting rail (5), and that optionally different types of fluid atomizers (6) are distributed onto the mounting rail (5). Additionally, a method for delivering fluid droplets onto poultry hatchlings present in moving hatchling trays (19) is described.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a dispensing apparatus fordelivering droplets of fluids, such as liquids having a low viscosity orsoft gels, onto poultry hatchlings that are present in movably mountedhatchling trays comprising at least one reservoir, at least one pumpingunit, each connected to the at least one reservoir, at least onemanifold connected to the at least one pumping unit, as well as at leastone control unit and a method for delivering fluid droplets onto poultryhatchlings present in moving hatchling trays.

Poultry hatchlings such as chicks or turkeys have to be immunizedagainst various diseases during the first days of their life.Vaccination of the hatchlings will usually be performed by spraying ordropping the vaccine suspended in drinking water applied in the poultryhatchery. Thereby the vaccine is sprayed directly on the hatchlings. Thebirds will then eat or peck the droplets from the feathers of anotheranimal. Thereby all poultry hatchlings consume sufficient amounts of thevaccine, but this method also has drawbacks. Besides the problem thatthe vaccine must be evenly distributed in the solution to be sprayed,the amount of water containing the vaccine to be sprayed on the chicksis relatively high and results in a risk at the birds becoming too wet,which will negatively affect the health of the chicks.

Another method for administering a vaccine is to mix it in the drinkingwater of the poultry hatchlings. But there are many drawbacks, firstlythis method requires that the vaccine remains evenly suspended in thedrinking water and secondly, it has been shown that such a method willresult in an uneven vaccination of the birds.

In WO 96/25951 a gel form vaccine has been described. The vaccineembedded in a sliceable gel is administered by introducing slices of thevaccine containing gel in each hatchling tray. This methods solves theproblem that the birds will be too wet but it requires that a separateslice is to be introduced in each tray by hand. This makes the proceduretime consuming and therefore ineffective.

US 2002/0104485 A1 describes a dispensing device which controls a rateand an amount of discharge of a substance which may be used to treatanimals. The dispensing device has a tank including a top, a bottom anda cover. The dispensing device also includes a dispenser in fluidcommunication with the tank, and a dispensing head in fluidcommunication with the dispenser. The dispensing head further includes aplurality of apertures near an outer diameter of the dispensing head.

Furthermore different systems for spraying liquids onto the hatchlingsby using dispensing heads which are in fluid communication with adispenser are described. These dispensing heads are designed as dishedplates having a plurality of spray nozzles arranged therein. Examples ofsuch systems are described in US 2002/0104485, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,850,997and 4,316,464. These systems suffer from the drawback that the geometryof the spraying head does not allow to dispense the vaccine containingsuspension uniformly over the entire hatchling tray, resulting in anuneven vaccination.

A soft gel delivery system for treating poultry has been described in WO2005/099617. Hereby a soft gel containing the vaccine is dispensedthrough a delivery system directly onto the birds in a tray. Thedelivery system contains of a hollow bar being equipped with a pluralityof small holes through which the soft gel will be pumped in the bar anddropped on the birds. While this system overcomes the problems ofwetting of the chicks and also the problem of introducing separateslices of vaccine containing gel into the trays by hand the problem thatthe soft gel containing the vaccine is not evenly distributed over thewhole tray because most of the soft gel passes out the spray nozzles inthe form of small holes directly adjacent the feeding device remains.Thus regions further afar from the feeding device do not receivesufficient amounts of the soft gel due to pressure loss along the hollowbar and thus an uneven vaccination of the chicks is feared.

Thus, there remains the need for a simple and at the same time preciseworking device for administering at least one fluid selected from thegroup containing vaccines, probiotic product(s), prebiotic product(s),or other therapeutic and/or healthful substances to poultry hatchlings,which evenly distributes a sufficient amount of active substance overall birds in the tray and assures therefore a rapid and completeapplication to all birds. Object of the present invention is thereforeto provide such a device and a method for delivering therapeuticsubstances such as probiotic products, prebiotic products, otherhealthful substances, and/or vaccines to poultry hatchlings by sprayingor dropping a fluid evenly over the entire hatchling tray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For solving this issue, the present invention is essentiallycharacterized in that the apparatus comprises a plurality of optionallyadjustable fluid atomizers being connected by flexible connecting meansto the at least one manifold, whereby the fluid atomizers are detachablyand/or slidably connected with at least one mounting rail, and thatoptionally different types of fluid atomizers are distributed onto themounting rail. By arranging a plurality of optionally adjustable fluidatomizers, which are connected by flexible connecting means to the atleast one manifold, it is possible to assure that the at least one fluidis distributed over the hatchling tray. The at least one fluid is evenlysupplied to all fluid atomizers to be delivered evenly over thehatchlings, with the same pressure, same droplet size, as well as thatall fluid atomizers are fed with the same amount of the fluid to bedelivered. By separately connecting each fluid atomizer with themanifold, it is assured that the fluid is pumped in each connectingmeans connecting the manifold with a fluid atomizer, and therefore thefluid can be evenly distributed over the hatchling trays. In the priorart, systems were known having only one supply, being connected with amanifold and being connected with a dish or bar for distributing thefluid or also soft gel. These devices have the drawback that thedelivering pressure of the fluid to be distributed is not the same overthe diameter or the length of the distributing unit. It is evident thatthe pressure is higher beneath the delivery device and it is lower inregions being afar therefrom. With the present dispensing apparatus, itis possible to provide the fluid to be distributed with the pressure tothe whole number of fluid atomizers and therefore with the same pressureand the same droplet size over the hatchling trays containing thehatchlings to be treated. By providing fluid atomizers which aredetachable and/or slidable and connected with at least one mounting railit is possible to adjust not only the number of fluid atomizers beingprovided onto the rail in accordance with the requirements, but also toadjust the apparatus to different sizes of hatchling trays. Hereby, itis possible to supply any width of the hatchling tray with fluiddroplets and such an arrangement assures that no region of the trayconstitutes a dead space in which the baby chicks are not hit by softgel droplets. Furthermore by slidably attaching the fluid atomizers ontothe mounting rail, it is furthermore possible to arrange the fluidatomizers in any selected distance and number for achieving the best andespecially complete coverage with fluid droplets of the area of thetray, and thus of the hatchlings contained therein. By optionallyproviding different types of fluid atomizers, which are distributed ontothe mounting rail, it is possible to deliver at least two differentfluids at the same time. For example, it will therefore be possible tofeed at the same time a probiotic product as well as a vaccine, wherebyboth active ingredients may be provided as fluids having differentviscosity.

In the context of the present application, fluid means a liquid having aviscosity up to 1000 cps, whereby it is preferred that at least oneliquid is a soft gel having a viscosity between 50 and 1000 cps,preferably from 100 to 300 cps and most preferably from 120 to 200 cps.It is additionally preferred that probiotics as active ingredients aresupplied within soft gels; and that e.g. vaccines are provided assuspension or solution in a common organic or inorganic solvent orsolvent mixture, being a liquid with a lower viscosity of up to 50 cps,preferably from 20 to 50 cps.

For assuring that all poultry hatchlings being contained in onehatchling tray are provided with the fluid to be distributed, theapparatus is further characterized in that a distance between adjacentfluid atomizers on the at least one mounting rail is unevenlydistributed on the mounting rail and especially such that the distancebetween the fluid atomizers is smaller in a middle region of themounting rail compared to edge regions thereof, the distance between twoadjacent fluid atomizers located in the middle region preferably beingbetween 20 to 60% of the distance of two adjacent fluid atomizes locatedin an edge region. When hatchling trays are filled with poultryhatchlings, the hatchlings are usually conveyed by endless conveyor andfed for a predetermined time into the selected hatchling trays. Withsuch a procedure, the distribution of the hatchlings in the trays isusually uneven, meaning that often the density of hatchlings in eachtray varies. Thus, the poultry hatchlings can be cumulated at one sideor in the center of the tray, then an uneven distribution of the fluidatomizers onto the mounting rail will be helpful to allow an even anduniform distribution of fluid to all hatchlings in the tray. For beingable to adjust the apparatus to different situations, such as variablenumber of poultry hatchlings per tray, or uneven distribution ofhatchlings, the latter sitting in the middle of the of the tray or onthe border thereof, the apparatus may be further equipped with a sensorwhich checks the presence or absence of the hatchlings and sends asignal to an adjustment mechanism of the fluid atomizers, which will bemoved in the optimal position for distributing the fluid.

For avoiding that the hatchlings obtain too much of the activeingredient contained in the liquid, and for further avoiding thathatchlings become too wet by the droplets being distributed through thefluid atomizers, the apparatus is further developed in that differenttypes of fluid atomizers are provided, especially fluid atomizers havingflow openings with different diameter, or having an adjustable flowopening. By providing different types of fluid atomizers, it isfurthermore possible to distribute two different fluids at the sametime, which may have also different viscosity. For example the fluidhaving the higher viscosity is distributed though the fluid atomizershaving the larger opening.

According to a further development, the dispensing apparatus comprisesdifferent types of fluid atomizers being provided on a single mountingrail. Hereby, it is possible to distribute at the same time for exampledifferent droplet sizes or also different fluids having differentviscosities without providing additional mounting rails. For assuringthat all fluid atomizers are provided directly over the poultryhatchlings contained in a hatchling tray, the fluid atomizers may beprovided in an offset manner. Such an arrangement will be easilyobtainable for example by providing brackets having different stemlength.

By providing such an apparatus, and for obtaining an apparatus beingadjustable to different dimensions of the tray, as well as to differentworking conditions, the apparatus is further developed in that thepumping unit is a pneumatic pump which is actuated to pump the soft gelfrom the reservoir to the fluid atomizers, and to adjust and/or toswivel the supporting structure into a working or rest position. Hereby,it is possible to adjust and/or swivel the supporting structure into aworking or rest position for being able to provide maintenance work, asan example. Furthermore, it is possible to provide the supportingstructure made from telescoping bars whereby it is possible to adjustthe device not only in width direction but also in height direction. Byactuating the supporting structure with aid of the pumping unit, andespecially of the pneumatic pump, adjustment of the device is furthersimplified.

For avoid complicating the design of the apparatus for dispensingdifferent fluids at the same time, for example soft gel and liquidsubstances, the apparatus is further developed in that it comprises tworeservoirs, preferably being each provided with a throttle valve. Theprovision of a separate throttle valve in each reservoir allows toswitch between the reservoirs provided, to close-down one of thereservoirs, for example for maintenance work or also for providingdifferent fluids at the same time. Moreover, such flexibility in devicesetup allows an apparatus to feed exact amounts of the selected fluid tothe fluid atomizers being connected via a manifold with the pumpingdevice.

Especially for being able to provide different fluids at the same time,the dispensing apparatus comprises two pumping units, preferably pumpingunits providing different pumping powers. Herewith, it is possible todispense at the same time various fluids with different viscosities,such as a soft gel being pumped with the pump having the greater pumpingforce, and a low viscosity liquid, being pumped with the pump having thesmaller pumping force. Of cause both fluids provided may contain thesame or different active ingredients such as probiotic substances,vaccines, antibiotics and so on.

For assuring that no active ingredients containing soft gel and/or lowviscosity liquid is dropped outside the tray, the apparatus can befurther developed so that the pumping unit is interposed between thereservoir and the manifold and that the pumping unit is actuated by aswitching pulse obtained from a proximity sensor. The proximity sensordetects the arrival of each tray and sends a switching pulse to acontrol unit for switching on the pumping unit and for delivering fluidsuch as soft gel to the fluid atomizers. Analogously, the proximitysensor detects that the tray has passed and sends a switching pulse to acontrol unit for switching off the pumping unit. With such furtherdevelopment, it can be assured that only the minimum amount of vaccine,antibiotic and/or probiotic substance in the fluid required, such assoft gel or low viscosity liquid, will be used, and that any losses ofthe fluid and contamination of the environment by the fluid is avoided.

For providing a uniform amount of fluid to each fluid atomizer, and foravoiding any excess pressure at the fluid atomizers, the device isfurthermore characterized in that each pumping unit is a pneumatic pump,actuated to pump the fluid(s) from the reservoir(s) to the fluidatomizers. By providing pneumatic pumps, it is possible to regulate thesupply pressure of each fluid, controlling dropping rate as well as thefluid volume in each drop. A fine adjustment of these features can beachieved by adjusting the valve opening of each fluid atomizer,comparing to state of the art where one non-variable, static type ofdispenser valve is used. Furthermore, to avoid idle running of thepumping unit, the device is supplied with a proximity sensor which isconnected to a control device for detecting the start point of pumpaction. Hereby the proximity sensor detects the arrival of a hatchlingtray, then it sends a signal to the control device which in turn sends astart signal for starting the pump action of the pumping unit. Such anembodiment can help to prolong the lifetime of the pumping unit as wellas of the other parts of the apparatus. Furthermore, by providing aproximity sensor, any waste of the probiotic product, prebioticsubstance, other healthful substance, and/or vaccine contained in thesoft gel and/or low viscosity liquid, can be avoided, resulting ingreater return of investment.

For assuring that an equal amount of the fluid(s) to be distributed isfed to each fluid atomizer, the apparatus is further developed in thatit comprises two manifolds, being connected with the same pumping unitor with different pumping units. With such an apparatus, it is possibleto feed fluid(s) to the manifolds and then to the fluid atomizers andespecially to evenly distribute the fluid(s) between all separate fluidatomizers. Moreover, it is possible to use manifolds which do not havetoo many outlets and therefore all supply devices, such as supply hosesbeing connected between the manifold and the fluid atomizers, can bechosen such that for example the diameter of the hose guarantees that itwill not clogged with the fluid(s), especially when a soft-gel is used.

For further adjusting the delivery device to dimensions of the hatchlingtray, and for adjusting the amount of soft gel delivered to the numberof chicks contained in the tray, the device is further processed suchthat at least one mounting rail is adjustable, especially heightadjustable, connected to a supporting structure. By providing adjustablemounting rails, which are connected to a supporting structure, it ispossible to adjust the apparatus not only to the size of hatchlingtrays, but also for example if two hatchling trays are arranged one overthe other. Such a construction allows to treat two trays at the sametime for example with different fluids, being evenly distributed overtrays at each level.

According to a further development of the apparatus, it is characterizedin that it contains two adjustable mounting rails, preferably on top oradjacent to each other. With such a further development it is not onlypossible to drop fluids into two hatchling trays at the same time, butit is also possible to use two endless conveyors, preferably arrangedadjacent to each other at the same time, and to therefore double thenumber of poultry hatchlings treated at once.

To be able to change individual fluid atomizers, for example if thefluid atomizers are worn from the mounting rail(s), or also to addfurther atomizers onto said rail if a lot of hatchlings are to betreated, the invention is furthermore characterized in that it containsup to 28, more preferred up to 20 fluid atomizers, whereby at least 4,more preferred at least 10 fluid atomizers are provided on each mountingrail. For example, by clamping each fluid atomizer on the mounting rail,it is possible to adjust the position of the opening of the atomizer inview of the hatchling tray, or also to swivel it so that its opening canbe cleaned easily. With such an embodiment, it is additionally possibleto provide sufficient droplets of active agent containing fluid(s) tosafely treat all poultry hatchlings contained in each tray whilst allmaintenance work can be done without switching off the entire device.

The invention aims furthermore to a method for delivering fluid(s) indroplet form onto poultry hatchlings being present in moving hatchlingtrays via a procedure assuring that the fluid(s) is(are) dropped ontothe hatchlings and that the amount of active ingredient contained in thesaid fluid(s) is consumed by the hatchlings. The amount of dispensedfluid(s) should be minimized whilst ensuring that all chicks containedin a tray are evenly covered with droplets of fluid(s) containing theactive ingredient(s).

To solve this problem, the method according to the present invention ischaracterized in that at least one fluid containing at least one activecomponent, preferably selected from the group consisting of prebiotic,probiotic, antibiotic and flavoring agents, vaccines, plant extracts,essential oils, amino acids, vitamins, minerals as well as organic acidsand optionally coloring agents. The at least one fluid is prepared andplaced in at least one reservoir of a fluid dispensing apparatus; thedistance between the fluid atomizers is adjusted in accordance with atleast one of the features, tray geometry, hatchling distribution in thetrays, hatchling density in the tray and/or tray speed; the movinghatchling trays containing the poultry hatchlings are placed beneath thefluid atomizers of the apparatus; the at least one pumping unit isswitched on, and the at least one fluid is pumped with a pressureconvenient for feeding the at least one fluid from the reservoir throughthe manifold to the fluid atomizers, distributing the fluid asoptionally colored droplets onto the poultry hatchlings. This methodguarantees that only the minimum amount of fluid is distributed over thetrays, and that by choosing the number of fluid atomizers, thedistributing time and the distributing pressure the amount dispensed,the area over which the fluid, such as a low viscosity liquid or a softgel is spread, as well as the size of droplets can be selected via theatomizer opening selection.

With the method as well as with the device according to the presentinvention, it is moreover possible to administer a soft gel whichcontains a liquid carrier such as carbohydrate-based and/ormineral-based water stabilizing compounds. Carbohydrate-based waterstabilizing compounds preferably contain amino acids, maltodextrin,diols and/or a derivative of cellulose, whereas mineral-based waterstabilizing compounds preferably contain carbonate, chloride, phosphate,and/or sulfate salts. Most preferably amino acid is L-Lysine salt.Derivative of cellulose is most preferably microcrystalline cellulose,diol is most preferably propylene glycol, carbonate is most preferablysodium bicarbonate, chloride is most preferably sodium chloride,potassium chloride and/or other hydrochloride salts, phosphates are mostpreferably sodium phosphate and/or potassium phosphate, sulfate salt ismost preferably sodium sulfate. The coloring agent is preferably plantbased and with nutritional or health related value, most preferablydried and ground sweet potato and/or dried and ground algae. The atleast one active component is selected from the group consisting of atleast one probiotic, prebiotic, vaccine, antibiotic, organic acid,flavoring, plant extract, essential oil, amino acids, vitamin andmineral. Preferably, the probiotic contains at least one microbialstrain, more preferably at least one bacterial strain colonizing thepoultry gut, even more preferably at least one poultry gut colonizingbacterial strain from the species Bifidobacterium animalis, Enterococcusfaecium, Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus reuteri and/orLactobacillus salivarius, most preferably at least one poultry gutcolonizing bacterial strain being Bifidobacterium animalis DSM16284,Enterococcus faecium DSM16211, Enterococcus faecium DSM 21913,Lactobacillus salivarius DSM 16531, Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 16350and/or Pediococcus acidilactici DSM 16210. Furthermore, the prebiotic ispreferred to contain a fructo-oligosaccharide structure supportinggrowth of colonizing Bifidobacterium spp. in the gut, more preferablyfructo-oligosaccharides in natural form being inulin, most preferablyinulin in form of chicory root. Furthermore, the vaccine preferablycontains live, attenuated live and/or dead bacteria, parasites and/orviruses, most preferably vaccines for poultry diseases and/or pathogenscomprised of coccidial vaccines with Eimeria acervulina, E. maxima, E.tenella, E. praecox, E. megatrix, E. brunetti, E. mitis, E. hagani, E.mivati, E. adenoeides, E. gallopavonis, E. meleagrimitis, E dispersa, E.colchici, E. duodenalis, E. tetarto, E. kofoidi, E. legionensis, E.lettyae, E. coloni, E. truncata and/or Tyzzeria perniciosa, Marek'sDisease, Newcastle Disease, Infectious Bronchitis, Infectious BursalDisease, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Hemorrhagic enteritis, Fowl cholera,LaSota, Erysipelas, Encephalomyelitis, Riemerella anatipestifer, as wellas Duck viral hepatitis, antibiotics preferably are preventativeantibiotics used in poultry production like ampicillin, bacitracin,ciprofloxacin, colistin, gentamicin, lincomycin, penicillins,tetracyclines, tylosin and/or virginiamycin. Furthermore flavoringagents, preferably contain vanilla extract and/or cinnamon aldehyde.Furthermore plant extracts preferably contain alkaloids, glycosides,flavonoids, and/or tannins, for alkaloids most preferably berberine,piperine, and/or palmatine, for glycosides most preferably amygdalinand/or cardiac glycosides, for flavonoids most preferably apigenin,chrysin, quercetin and/or rutin, for tannins most preferablyellagitannin and/or gallotannin. Furthermore, essential oils arepreferably terpenes, hydrocarbons, and/or oxygenated compounds, forterpenes and hydrocarbons most preferably limonene, myrcene, farnesene,zingiberene, for oxygenated compounds most preferably thymol, eugenol,carvacrol, linalool, citronellol, and/or terpineol. Furthermore organicacids are preferably acetic acid, citric acid, formic acid, lactic acid,malic acid, and/or propionic acid Furthermore amino acids are preferablyessential amino acids, most preferably methionine, lysine, threonine,and/or tryptophan. Furthermore vitamins are preferably vitamins A, B,D3, E, K, and/or choline. Furthermore minerals are preferably saltscontaining calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper,iodine, zinc, and/or cobalt. These products can be mixed beforeadministering, or also can be administered separately. For administeringdifferent products at the same time, the method is further developed inthat two different soft gels or low viscosity liquids are delivered atthe same time by feeding each soft gel or low viscosity liquid to aselected group of fluid atomizers. Hereby it is possible that some ofthe fluid atomizers are supplied for example with a probiotic with orwithout a prebiotic, with or without a vaccine, preferably the vaccinetargeting the gut, most preferably a vaccine containing viable and/ordead coccidial oocysts, being contained in a soft gel suspension withlarger droplet size with a diameter of minimum 1×10⁻³ m, and some ofthem with a low viscosity liquid for example containing antibioticsand/or vaccines, preferably vaccines targeting the lungs, or othereasily soluble substances necessary for the hatchling that need asmaller droplet size with a diameter of up to 1×10⁻³ m. In this respect,the method is further developed such that the soft gel or low viscosityliquid is fed to one of the manifolds by actuating the throttle valvebeing provided in the reservoir, being connected with the associatedreservoir, and by applying pressure. At the same time, the othermanifold is fed with the second substance or substance mixture to bedistributed by the second throttle valve, being contained in the otherreservoir and the substance or substance mixture is sprayed over thehatchlings by the fluid atomizers being connected with the secondmanifold. Hereby it is possible to provide the poultry hatchlings withmore than one essential substance such as vaccine, vitamins, antibioticsor so on without any necessity to perform two passages under the devicefor dispensing a soft gel into the hatchling tray, even if the twosubstances cannot be combined in the same fluid needing separatereservoirs, for example antibiotics and probiotics.

With the present method, it is preferred to provide an active ingredientor component selected from the group consisting of at least oneprobiotic agent, vaccine, antibiotic, flavoring, coloring agent, vitaminand mineral. It is self-explanatory that in the fluid to be providedmore than one active component can be contained and that also theamounts contained may differ.

According to a further development of the method, it is characterized inthat the fluid to be distributed by the fluid atomizers is a soft gelhaving a viscosity from 50 to 1000 cps, preferably from 100 to 300 cpsand most preferably from 120 to 200 cps, the fluid to be distributed bythe fluid atomizers is a low viscosity liquid up to 50 cps, preferablyfrom 20 to 50 cps, and especially with having the option of applying twodifferent fluids having the same or different viscosities, which arethen applied by preferably different types of fluid atomizers onto thepoultry hatchlings. By choosing e.g. a soft gel having a viscosity from50 to 1000 cps, preferably from 100 to 300 cps and most preferably from120 to 200 cps as fluid to be dropped over the poultry hatchlings, it ispossible to obtain discrete droplets having an uniform size and volume.By using two different types of fluid atomizers, it is furthermorepossible to use different fluids, such as two different soft gels havingthe same or also different viscosities, and optionally to drop twodifferent active compounds over the hatchlings. For obtaining bestresults, the method is carried out such that an application volumestream of individual soft gel droplets per mounting rail is up to 600ml/min, preferably up to 900 ml/min, most preferably up to 1800 ml/min.

This method is further facilitated in that two different fluids areintermittently fed to two different manifolds, whereby switching pulsesemitted by a switch sensor actuate the throttle valve being provided inthe reservoir intended for one of the two fluids, such as soft gels orlow viscosity liquids, and that the fluid selected is fed to the fluidatomizers being connected with the selected manifold. Hereby, it ispossible to achieve a further simplification of the device used, alongwith an operating procedure which is simple and safe and by which it ispossible to provide all poultry hatchlings in a tray with an exact andpredetermined amount of two different substances, or also two differentfluids, such as soft gel and liquid with low viscosity, as needed by thehatchlings.

In order to ensure an exact opening time of the fluid atomizers and toavoid any waste of fluid, the invention is preferably further developedsuch that the fluid atomizers are opened for a time which corresponds tothe time needed for forwarding the hatchling tray about a distancecorresponding to the length of the hatchling tray. By adjusting theopening time of the throttle valves in accordance with the requirement,especially in accordance with passage time of the hatchling tray anywaste of fluid, especially of soft gel can be avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail by wayof exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. Therein:

FIG. 1 depicts a partial longitudinal section trough an overall view ofa device for dispensing a fluid into trays for poultry hatchlingsaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts part of the distributing unit in an enlarged viewcomprising the mounting rail as well as the fluid atomizers beingdetachably mounted on the mounting rail;

FIG. 3 depicts a detailed view of the distributing unit of FIG. 2,wherein a fluid atomizer integrally provided with a fixing clip isdetached from the mounting rail and a fixing clip;

FIG. 4 depicts an enlarged view of an embodiment of the manifoldaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts a second embodiment of the device for dispensing a fluidinto trays for poultry hatchlings according to the invention, whichdevice is developed for providing fluid(s) from two differentreservoirs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically an apparatus for dispensing a fluidespecially a soft gel into trays for poultry hatchlings generallydenoted by 1, which apparatus 1 comprising a control unit 17; a throttlevalve 11; a pumping unit 9; a supply duct 22 connecting the throttlevalve 11 with the pumping unit 9; a manifold 8; fluid atomizers 6attached to the manifold 8; flexible connecting means 7 connecting themanifold 8 and the fluid atomizers 6; a supporting device 2, comprisingtwo bases 3 and two supporting bars 4.

The supporting bars 4 are preferably adjustable in length and arecomposed of telescopic rods, for example. Optionally, the mounting rail5 is directly connected to the supporting bar 4 on which the controlunit 17 is mounted. Thus only one base 3 and one supporting bar 4 isrequired.

Moreover the mounting rail 5 bears a plurality, especially 12 to 28fluid atomizers 6 which can be fixed at different heights on thesupporting device 2. Alternatively the height of the supporting device 2can by adjusted by pneumatically adjustable bars. Furthermore it ispossible to provide two mounting rails 5 which may be arranged indifferent heights of the supporting bars 4 or also facing to differentsides of the apparatus.

The fluid atomizers 6 can be slid and are release-ably fixed to themounting rail 5, as described in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each fluid atomizer 6 isconnected with the flexible connecting means 7, preferably being a hose,which is in turn connected with the manifold 8. The manifold 8distributes fluid into the connecting means 7 and further into the fluidatomizers 6. For distributing the soft gel or a liquid, as preferredover a hatchling tray 19, not shown in FIG. 1, the fluid atomizers 6 arein a position for distributing fluid in droplet form, feed by pressureinto the hatchling tray and therefor onto the poultry hatchlings housedin the tray, which tray is moved under the mounting rail 5. Forproviding the pressure necessary for distributing the fluid from areservoir, not shown in the FIG. 1, to the manifold 8 and then into thefluid atomizers 6, the pumping unit 9 is arranged between the reservoirand the manifold 8.

The pumping unit 9, the proximity sensor 10, as well as the connectingmean 22 being connected with the throttle valve 11 are conducted in acontrol unit 17, which contains only usual components, necessary foroperating the apparatus, such as a power supply, a flow regulator, apressure gauge or so on, which parts are therefore not described indetail.

To ensure that the fluid drops out of the fluid atomizers 6 only at thetime of the passage of a hatchling tray, the device is furthermoreequipped with a proximity sensor 10. If the proximity sensor 10 detectsthe arrival of hatchling tray, it sends a signal to the pumping unit 10which switches on, as well as a signal to a throttle valve 11 beingarranged in the reservoir. After receipt of the signal from theproximity sensor 10, the throttle valve 11 opens and fluid, such as softgel or a low viscosity liquid will be pumped through the apparatus andinto the fluid atomizers 6 and drops over the hatchlings, the drops thenbeing consumed by the poultry hatchling. When the proximity sensor 10detects the tailing end of a hatchling tray, it sends a further signalto the throttle valve 11 as well as to the pumping unit 9, where afterthe throttle valve closes and the pumping unit 9 switches off.

For avoiding any submerging of the throttle valve 11 into the fluidbeing contained in the reservoir, the throttle valve 11 can be equippedwith a float, not shown in the figure. Furthermore the working pressureof the pumping unit 9 can be adjusted for being able to deliver higheramounts of fluid(s) onto the hatchlings, or also for being able to pumpsoft gels with different, especially higher viscosities such as forexample soft gels having a viscosity of about 200 cps.

In the illustration according to FIG. 2, the reference numerals of FIG.1 have essentially been retained, wherein only those parts of the devicewhich differ from FIG. 1 or were not described thus far are described.In FIG. 2, an enlarged view of the mounting rail 5, as well as the fluidatomizers 6 being detachably mounted on a round bar 12 being part of themounting rail 5 is shown. The round bar 12 is an inseparable part of themounting rail 5 whereby an L-shaped sheet 13 is provided under the roundbar 12 for avoiding an unintentional pivoting of the fluid atomizers 6being clamped on the round bar 12. The fluid atomizers 6 are providedwith a clamping part 14 being clearly shown in FIG. 3. The clamping part14 has two clamping members made of resilient plastics, which clampingmembers are able to partially surround the round bar 12 and therefore tohold the fluid atomizers 6 in position. With such clamping members it ishowever possible to slide each fluid atomizer 6 on the round bar 12 andalso to remove it from the round bar 12. Of course it is also possibleto clamp additional fluid atomizers 6 onto the round bar 12 andtherefore to adapt the device 1 to different sizes of hatchling trays.

It is understood that another design of the mounting rail 5 can be usedas long as the fluid atomizers can be positioned along the mounting rail5, and also removed therefrom. One further example is to use magneticcoupling to flexibly connect of the atomizers 6 onto the mounting rail5. Furthermore additional fluid atomizers 6 can be attached onto themounting rail 5 or also on the round bar 12 for ensuring that more fluidcan be provided or also two different fluids can be administered at thesame time.

The fluid atomizers 6 can be of conventional design and especially onecan also choose any kind of valve which can be adapted for deliveringfluids, such as soft gels or liquids, for example is it possible to usepressure-actuated valves, flow valves, but also check valves. If checkvalves are used, it is possible to lock or additionally open individualvalves whereby a further adjustment to different conditions such asdifferent sizes of hatchling trays, different number of poultryhatchlings in each tray or also different feeding speed of the trays,can be accommodated.

In FIG. 4 an enlarged view of an embodiment of the manifold 8 is shown.The manifold 8 consist of a hollow container 15 which is for exampleconnected via a quick coupling 16 with a pipe connecting the manifold 8to the pumping unit 9. At the outer periphery of the hollow container 15a number of quick couplings 16 corresponding to the number of hoses 7 isprovided. The quick couplings 16 can act as flow valves for adjustingthe amount of fluid to be provided to the fluid atomizers 6. Such anembodiment allows to perform maintenance on the apparatus without longinterruption time of the apparatus and especially nearly all parts canbe exchanged separately.

In FIG. 5 a second embodiment of the apparatus for dispensing a fluidinto trays 19 for poultry hatchlings is shown. In the illustrationaccording to FIG. 5, the reference numerals of FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 haveessentially been retained from FIG. 1, wherein only those parts of thedevice which differ therefrom will be described. The operation of theapparatus 1, according to FIG. 5 is the same as described in connectionwith FIG. 1. The only difference is that the manifold 8, the pressureunit 9, the control unit 17, the throttle valve 11 as well as thereservoir 18 are provided in duplicate. The proximity sensor 10 switchesboth parts if the device 1. Each manifold 8 is connected via hoses 7with, for example, one half of the fluid atomizers 6. With such a device1 it is possible to distribute two different fluids containing forexample two different active components, such as vaccines, antibiotics,vitamins, nutrients or so on at the same time. The fluid can be ofdifferent color, can show different viscosities or can be provided witha different through flow for adapting the device 1 to differentrequirements.

According to the invention, it is also possible to feed two differentfluids intermittently to the two different manifolds 8, whereby switchpulses emitted by the control unit actuate the respective throttle valve11.

The apparatus 1 according to FIG. 5 can be adapted such that twomounting rails 5 are provided, which mounting rails 5 can be arranged atboth sides of the supporting bars 4 or also at the same side thereof butin different heights thereof. Both mounting rails 5 can also beconnected to the supporting bar 4 of the control unit 17.

Furthermore in FIG. 5 is shown schematically a hatchling tray 19 whichis moved in the direction of the arrow 20. As long as the tray 19 isunder the mounting rail 5 fluid will be distributed through the fluidatomizers 6 and drops, as indicated with arrows 21, into the tray 19, inwhich the poultry hatchlings are housed. At the moment where a sensor,not shown in the Fig., detects the trailing end of the hatchling tray19, a signal will be sent to a control unit, not shown, which stopsimmediately the pumping unit 9 and therefore delivery of fluid to thefluid atomizers 6. If in turn the proximity sensor 10 detects theleading edge of the next hatchling tray 19 arriving, it will send asignal to the control unit 17 which will actuate the pump 9 and startdelivery of fluid the fluid atomizers 6.

It is understood that further embodiments are also within the scope ofthe invention such as for example a variant containing only onereservoir 18, one control unit 17 and one pumping unit 9 but twomanifolds 8 and two mounting rails 5. With such a device 1 it will bepossible to adjust the amount of fluid distributed to the size or thenumber of the tray(s) 19 and to the number of poultry hatchlingscontained therein.

1. A dispensing apparatus for delivering droplets of fluids, ontopoultry hatchlings that are present in movably mounted hatchling trayscomprising at least one reservoir, at least one pumping unit, eachconnected to the at least one reservoir, at least one manifold connectedto the at least one pumping unit, as well as at least one control unit,wherein the apparatus further comprises a plurality of optionallyadjustable fluid atomizers being connected by flexible connecting meansto the at least one manifold, whereby the fluid atomizers are detachablyand/or slidably connected with at least one mounting rail, and thatoptionally different types of fluid atomizers are distributed onto themounting rail.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein that adistance between adjacent fluid atomizers on the at least one mountingrail is unevenly distributed on the mounting rail and that a distancebetween the fluid atomizers is smaller in a middle region of themounting rail compared to edge regions thereof, the distance between twoadjacent fluid atomizers located in the middle region preferably beingbetween 20 to 60% of the distance of two adjacent fluid atomizerslocated in an edge region.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein different types of fluid atomizers are provided having flowopenings with different diameter, or having an adjustable flow opening.4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it comprises differenttypes of fluid atomizers being provided on a single mounting rail. 5.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it comprises two reservoirs,each provided with a throttle valve.
 6. The apparatus according to claim1, wherein the pumping unit is interposed between the reservoir and themanifold and that a switching pulse obtained from a proximity sensoractuates the pumping unit.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein it comprises two pumping units, providing different pressure. 8.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each pumping unit is apneumatic pump, actuated to pump the fluid(s) from reservoir(s) to thefluid atomizers.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein itcomprises two manifolds, being connected with the same pumping unit orwith different pumping units.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the at least one mounting rail is height adjustable connected toa supporting structure.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinit contains two adjustable mounting rails on top or adjacent to eachother.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it contains up to28, fluid atomizers, whereby at least 4 fluid atomizers are provided oneach mounting rail.
 13. A method for delivering fluid droplets ontopoultry hatchlings present in moving hatchling trays, wherein at leastone fluid containing at least one active component, selected from thegroup consisting of probiotic agents, vaccines, antibiotics and acoloring agent is prepared, the prepared fluid is placed in at least onereservoir of a fluid dispensing apparatus according to claim 1; thedistance between the fluid atomizers is adjusted in accordance with atleast one of the features: tray geometry, hatchling distribution in thetrays, hatchling density in the tray and/or tray speed; the movinghatchling trays containing the poultry hatchlings are placed beneath thefluid atomizers of the apparatus; the at least one pumping unit isswitched on and the at least one fluid is pumped with a pressureconvenient for feeding the at least one fluid from the reservoir throughthe manifold to the fluid atomizers, distributing the fluid as coloreddroplets onto the poultry hatchlings.
 14. The method according to claim13, wherein the active component is selected from the group consistingof at least one probiotic agent, vaccine, antibiotic, flavoring,coloring agent, vitamin or mineral.
 15. The method according to claim13, wherein the fluid is either a soft gel having a viscosity of from 50to 1000 cps, or a low viscosity liquid having a viscosity up to 50 cps,is distributed by the fluid atomizers or that two different fluidshaving different viscosities are applied by different types of fluidatomizers onto the poultry hatchlings
 16. The method according to claim15, wherein an application volume stream of individual soft gel dropletsper mounting rail is up to 600 ml/min.
 17. The method according to claim13, wherein two different fluids are intermittently fed to two differentmanifolds, whereby switching pulses emitted by a switch sensor actuate athrottle valve being provided in the reservoir intended for one of thetwo fluids and that the fluid selected is fed to the fluid atomizersbeing connected to the selected manifold.
 18. The method according toclaim 13, wherein two different fluids are delivered at the same time.19. The method according to claim 13, wherein the fluid atomizers areopened for a time, which corresponds to the time needed for forwardingthe hatchling tray about a distance corresponding to the length of thehatchling tray.